The Distance
by Lazy Tobi
Summary: With Vulcan destroyed, Spock has no where else to call "home" ... or so he thinks.


**Disclaimer**: Standard issue – I own nothing. C: I do not own Star Trek (if I did, though…), and I do not own parts of the 2009 movie that I used.

**- The Distance -**

He was used to not belonging. He wouldn't lie and say it didn't bother him anymore or was immune to it now - it just _was_. He had not gone anywhere where he was truly accepted except for when his mother opened her arms, Vulcan propriety be damned, and pulled him to her body with a surprisingly strong grip for her small stature.

His mother…

Taking a deep breath through his nose, he concentrated on the flame flickering in front of him sending a little spiral of smoke up into the air. His mother was dead and gone now. It was illogical to keep mourning her loss months after her passing, but he could not forget the look of fear on her face, the utter terror written in her sad human eyes…

"K'diwa… Spock…"

Spock composed himself mentally, eyes still closed as he felt her fingers soothingly run over his scalp. He could feel her presence resonating behind his back, warm and alive and… human. Spock opened his eyes, the same sad human ones he shared with his mother, looking up to meet her gaze. She gave him a gentle smile, ruffling his hair slightly as she came around to sit down in front of him, blocking his view of the candle lit on a low table.

Spock took back his earlier thought. The woman before him, Nyota Uhura, also made him feel welcomed, like he was meant to be somewhere.

"I thought we agreed you would no longer brood by yourself?" Nyota questioned him softly, one eyebrow rising. It was a look he himself wore often, one he knew she enjoyed mimicking. Her only response to him when he questioned him on it was, "It's fun and cute – just like you." After receiving that embarrassing response three times in a row, Spock had never asked her again.

"I am merely meditating. You know and approve of me meditating alone, so it is illogical of you to be in here at this moment. I have only been meditating for ten minutes." He replied smoothly. Vulcans do not lie, but they can omit the truth when it was necessary. He _had_ started off meditating, after all.

"You and I know that is your way of avoiding the truth, Spock. It's faint, but I can feel you. I know you well enough to pick up on your mood swings and depict what you're truly feeling. You know this. This part of the conversation is illogical." Nyota's voice was tired, as if she had been through this many times (which, he hated to admit, she had). Spock's head tilted to the side slightly, mind searching and easily finding the little golden spot that was warm and alive, always twisting and turning within him. He had mind-melded with Nyota many times, most of the time in the bedroom, and each time the link had strengthened. As a strong telepath, he had been conscious of their link ever since she had first pressed her lips to his; Nyota had only been made aware of it after their first time truly together in every sense of the word. Even at the weakest point in the beginning, she'd been able to discern his strong emotions, and, over time, had eventually gotten to the point where she could reach out to his mind if she ever felt the need to. It was not as strong as a mating bond, but it was as close as they were going to get for now since neither of them had time to go to New Vulcan and find a Healer to officially bond them.

"I was meditating when..." Spock stopped, unsure of how to continue. He'd been brought up not to speak of emotions by his father and his intense desire to belong, but his mother had always told him to be open with himself. After they had started "dating," to use the human term, Nyota had also expressed the same words as his mother had, and she had become much more adamant after the Battle of Vulcan.

Nyota tilted her head to match his gaze, her eye imploring him to tell her more. She had learned this technique from someone (she often credited him and her mother, though he was unsure of when he had done so), and it was quite effective on him - only from Nyota, however. The Captain ("Come on, call me Jim, Spock! We're friends now!") had tried several times, but Spock had always been able to resist those blue eyes and ignore any question they asked. He expelled a breath of air, somewhat akin to a sigh, and scooted closer to Nyota, the few centimeters that had once been between them disappearing. Spock's knees, through the fabric of his meditation robes and the nylon of her tights, burned with her touch, sending the golden presence of her in his mind into a quicker dance. It did not blaze into the fire he knew and loved until her held his fingers to the psi points on the side of her head.

"It is easier if I show you." Spock explained, watching Nyota close her eyes and accept his mind before he closed his own eyes. Although he should be alone in the darkness of his mind, she was there with him, almost like a sentient being. With a shuddering breath, he went back, back to the days of his childhood. Spock had never shown her his school days before, but he had revealed to her some of his more pleasant memories of his mother when he was young. Nyota, after seeing him when he was a child, had told him he had been one of the cutest kids she'd ever seen; he'd been unable to keep the slight green hue from rising to his cheeks. Spock could feel her excitement when the memory started playing in his mind as he recalled the first major revelation in his life. His emotions, dark and muddied, soon made her zeal diminish into an aggrieved anticipation. The memory was from Spock's point of view, and it conveyed everything he remembered, down the slightest of details and the sterile smell of the Vulcan school. He started it for her at the end of the first half of his school day.

"… _When it is morally praise-worthy but not morally obligatory." Young Spock's voice was high but controlled, just like that of a Vulcan child. He tried very hard to be like them, to please his father. He knew Sarek was proud that he was the top student in his class even though he had skipped ahead of the other children his age. What his father did not know, because Sarek never asked, was that Spock didn't really like school. He did enjoy learning, but it was the other students that disheartened him. In fact, Spock could hear three approaching now. He knew who they were; he knew what they wanted. He usually disliked the three dings that announced his lunch break was to commence, but Spock dreaded it when he knew _those three_ were around._

"_Spock!" It was the ringleader. Spock knew the boy's name but refused to ever speak of it. Being in the first stages of puberty, the ringleader's voice was considerably lower than Spock's, and it made him feel inferior somehow. He blamed it on his human ancestry because no true Vulcan would feel those illogical emotions._

"_I presume you've prepared new insults for today." Spock said, voice the same as when he'd been reciting his work in his learning pod. His eyes, however, were rolled sarcastically, as his mother called it, to the ceiling._

"_Affirmative." The ringleader replied. Spock, knowing his fate was unavoidable, climbed the stairs leading him out of his pod and to where his tormenters were standing. Each of them was larger than he, and his eyes rolled over all three with the same emotionless expression. Inwardly, though, Spock could feel himself bracing for the incoming scathing words, the looks of derision, and the inner contempt he held for the boys deep within his heart._

"_This is your thirty-fifth attempt to elicit an emotional response from me." He said, in a perhaps vain attempt to show them how illogical they were being. He'd never break his control, not in anyone but his mother's view. Spock was too human for them already, why give them more to play with?_

"_You're neither human nor Vulcan and have no place in this universe." The ringleader stated in his monotone. Spock's eyes watched the boy's lips move, restating one of the first insults Spock had ever heard. Nothing on Spock's face changed, not even the minute detail of where the ends of his mouth curved, but one of the ringleader's goons decided to comment, "Look, he has human eyes. They look sad, don't they?" Spock was unsure of what the boy meant. He met the elder boy's eyes boldly, trying to show him there was no sadness in his heart, but it was futile._

"_Perhaps an emotional response requires physical stimuli." The ringleader stated, his arms crossing over his chest. Although Spock was smaller, he knew he could take them on in a fight for a few moments if they initiated one. Forewarned is forewarned, after all. The older boy uncrossed his arms, pushing Spock suddenly. A small gasp escaped his lips as he stumbled back three steps; he'd been foolishly expecting a more violent approach than a mere shove. Spock couldn't help his lips quirking downward, parting slightly, nor could he stop his eyebrows from rising slightly in surprise._

"_He's a traitor, you know - your father. For marrying _her_, that human whore."_

_Nothing, not even a group of le-matyas, could have stopped Spock at that moment. All he saw was red and heat and abhorrence. It spilled up and frothed over his vision, drowning his mind until instincts took over his body, rushing him forward with a scream parting his lips. Spock's arms, on their own accord, flew upward to push all of his momentum onto the ringleader, sending the boy down harshly into a vacated learning pod. A grunt of surprise, and maybe even pain, emanated clearly form the ringleader's mouth. It wasn't enough. Spock followed the boy into the pod, sliding down the side as the ringleader's goons stood on the top, watching with interest._

_Immediately, his mind was calculating the most effective way to make sure the ringleader felt _pain_. Although the ringleader got off the first punch, bruising Spock's lip and causing him to careen into the side of the pod, Spock made sure that was the only chance he got. Immediately pushing off the wall, Spock turned to face the ringleader again to be caught by his collar. A new punch was being sent his way, but he intercepted the next swing with his smaller arm. The ringleader was stronger than Spock, so he knew the stalemate of his block and the ringleader's punch would not last long. Spock kicked out with his foot, catching the ringleader off guard and tripping the boy. Taking advantage of the ringleader's dead weight, he reversed their roles, grabbing the boy's shirtfront to land on top of the ringleader as he fell to the ground. Spock straddled the ringleader's torso, pinning the boy's shoulders to the ground with his knees, and let his arms go wild with punches to the older boy's face. Angry tears escaped form his eyes as he grunted with each punch, knuckles screaming with protest after the fifth one landed on the ringleader's face. Somehow, Spock never noticed the ringleader's goons leaving to grab an adult, not until he was forcibly hauled up from the ringleader's motionless body. Spock's tired arms still swung in vain towards the ringleader's unconscious form until the boy was no longer in his sight. _

_While the ringleader was taken to see a Healer, Spock was marched into the dean's office. The adult who brought him there explained the situation to the dean, and Spock listened to the emotionless recitation of events with anger coursing through his veins. It still burned within him as he was dismissed and told to wait down the hall for his father to arrive and take him home, for Spock was to be punished by missing on his afternoon lessons. The response was mild, and Spock knew why. He could see it in the dean's Vulcan eyes: resigned disappointment in the _human_ at his school that could not be expected to control his wild emotions. From his bond with his father, Spock knew Sarek would soon arrive at the school, having started making his way over as soon as Sarek had detected immense emotion emanating from his bond with Spock. Spock sighed, trying to meditate as he waited for the more severe punishment he knew Sarek would give him. Spock ignored Sarek when he first arrived since Sarek had to face the dean before his child. Only when did the dean's door opened and the familiar beat of his father's footsteps nearing him did Spock open his eyes and look up, watching Sarek closely. Sarek was a master of control, and his face betrayed nothing, not even a hint of what he felt. As Sarek neared, Spock couldn't bear the weight of his father's gaze and lower his own to the floor._

"_They called you a traitor." Spock spoke up right before Sarek, who'd taken a breath, could speak. His voice was low and dull, anger ebbing away. Spock could not help but desire to see his father's reaction, so he turned his head and hesitantly raised his gaze once more. Sarek blinked twice, and Spock knew his father was determining the best course of action._

"_Emotions run deep within our race… In many ways, more deeply than in humans." Sarek said, startling him. Spock's eyebrows lowered slightly over his eyes as this brand new information was given to him. Vulcans… they could feel, too? He'd always thought it was only his baser human half that could feel…_

"_Logic offers a serenity that humans seldom experience."_

_There it was, the lecture. Spock's gaze fell as he immediately deciphered what his father was saying between the lines. He had not been logical to attack the boy even if he felt angry or the need to get even._

"_The control of feelings, so that _they_ do not control _you_…"_

_Spock could see his father's advice in his mind, could pick out all of the letters and words. The message was clear; Sarek was denouncing Amanda's constant reminders to express what he felt._

"_You suggest that I be completely Vulcan, and yet," Spock's eyebrows twitched as the anger of the hypocrisy hit him, "… you married a human." He looked up, the smart remark void of emotions but, nonetheless, meant as a rebuttal. Marrying out of love to a human should be illogical to Sarek._

"_As Ambassador to Earth, it is my duty to observe and understand human behavior. Marrying your mother was… logical."_

_The pause and the slight shake of Sarek's head spoke volumes to Spock. He lowered his gaze once more, wondering if Sarek was being truthful. Ever since his arrival on the school grounds, Sarek had blocked his mind from Spock._

"_Spock," Sarek drew his attention once more, "you are fully capable of deciding your own destiny. The question you face is… which path will you choose? This is something only you can decide."_

_At once, Spock knew. He would not be accepted as a Vulcan, and, from the xenophobic reactions he received when on Earth with his parents, that he would never be accepted as a human. He had no choice, none at all._

Spock ended the memory there, but he did not pull away from Nyota. He held onto her psyche tightly, fingers ever so slightly putting more pressure onto her psi points. At first, he had not intended to fully show her his experiences, but now that he'd started, he didn't think he could stop. Spock could hear Nyota's concerned and apologetic thoughts, but he chose to ignore them for now. Besides, it was illogical for her to apologize to him; she had no part in the torment he received in his younger days. Nyota must have picked up on his thoughts (how foolish of him not to assume she would), because she grabbed his free hand with both of hers, clasping it between them.

"I had no part, but I still am sorry. No one should be bullied for being different, Spock." Because of her holding his hand, her thought blasted him like a warm ray of sunlight. His chilled thoughts melted a bit on the outside.

"There is more, K'diwa." Spock admitted in his mind. He felt no surprise from Nyota, only grim expectance. She was ready for more of him, more of his confusion and misery.

"_Hey, roomie. My name is Jamie, Jamie Richardson."_

_Spock paused as a young man entered his dorm room. His eyes roved over the man's form, taking in his slightly tanned skin around his outstretched arm and the floppy brown hair sprouting in many directions from his scalp. Spock could easily calculate how much the man, Jamie, weighed and how much was muscle weight and what wasn't. He did not extend his own hand towards Jamie, for he didn't touch humans. It was too onerous and quite rude, an invasion of privacy at the least. Jamie's face fell as a minute of silence stretched between them, his hand hanging limply._

"_I am Spock, Mr. Richardson." Spock said, rising from his sitting position on his band and raising his hand in the Vulcan salute. Jamie's reaction was almost comical as it changed instantaneously; his high, white cheeks turned red, and his bright green eyes widened in surprise._

"_OH! _Oh_. I'm sorry, I… wow, um, awkward. Errr… there. Live long and prosper, right? I'm sorry – I didn't see your ears. I guess I should'a known from your hair cut, though…" Jamie hastily grabbed his right hand with his left, forcing his fingers to mirror Spock's._

"_Peace and long life." Spock nodded slightly, letting his arm fall behind his back. Another silence spanned between the two young men until Jamie rolled his shoulders and shrugged._

"_Well, let me pull my things in…" Jamie laughed, retrieving his variously sized suitcases into the dorm room from the hall. He had arrived 2.3 hours after Spock had, quite late for a first year cadet. Spock, however, didn't quite care for Jamie's tardiness, unlike what the young man seemed to think._

"_I met this really sweet girl after the entrance ceremony, so I, eheh, toured the female dorms first if you know what I mean. Want to compare schedules? I'm on the command track. Which are you on? Even if you're on engineering or science, we might have some basic courses together…" Jamie conversed as he moved his bags to the bed Spock had left alone, pulling small items from random pockets and dumping them on one of the desks. His eyes darted to the PADD laying on Spock's bed, and Spock considered telling Jamie that he had no business asking what classes Spock was taking. They had literally just met, after all. However, Spock recalled his mother telling him to be a bit more forthcoming since humans were different than Vulcans, and the courses Spock was in were public knowledge, in a way. Picking up his PADD, Spock accessed his timetable, handing it to Jamie. He did not mention he was on the science track because that was listed at the top of his course page._

"_You-you… you've got some second and third year courses?!" Jamie sputtered, almost dropping Spock's PADD as he went over the classes in Spock's schedule._

"_Of course. It would be illogical and a waste of my time to go over material I've already mastered." Spock was confused. Didn't Jamie know that the aptitude test they took placed them in the courses they needed to enter? Spock, of course, had some beginner level classes in subjects he had little knowledge of (like piloting a ship, although he was sure he would pick it up quickly and be moved into a more advanced class)._

"_How could you have learned this stuff already, though? That's some pretty advanced stuff… astrophysics and…" Jamie's voice trailed off. It was the first sign Spock was to receive that he would not enjoy his time with his roommate, although he didn't know it then._

"_I have already been taught it. Does this disturb you, Mr. Richardson?" Spock cocked his head to the side, confounded. Perhaps humans did not learn as much as Vulcans did before entering Starfleet Academy? As he was the only Vulcan on the premises, Spock would have to assume so. His mother had said that he might be intimidating to some humans, too._

"_Jamie, please, Spock. No, it's… I'm surprised, is all."_

_As it was one of his first interactions with a human on Starfleet, Spock mistook Jamie's wide eyes as an awestruck expression rather than the fearful one it truly was. Spock knew humans constantly found him disquieting, but since he was at an academy that sent all races into contact with each other, he expected to encounter little to no xenophobia. It would be illogical in a place where one would encounter a myriad of species on a daily basis._

Spock stopped the memory of his first roommate then. He conveyed the minor trust he put into Jamie because the young man had appeared genuine. It wasn't until the first semester's end with midterms did Spock finally learn Jamie's true nature.

"_Man, you think your roommate is crazy, but you don't have to deal with a _Vulcan_, Bobbie! At least Amir is human."_

_Spock stopped in his procession up the stairs of the library to the upper floors meant for studying. He was nearing the first floor of studying rooms. The floors were separated by a ranking system, the loudest rooms that most students used as a hang out spot being on the second floor of the library while the absolutely silent ones actually used for studying were on the fourth and fifth floors. Between the two extremes lay more rooms with varying degrees of sound and studying. Spock had fully intended to bypass the first floor completely, but he found that he could not move his feet, could not stop but concentrating on the voice he recognized as Jamie's floating from one room on the first floor. The door was open, so Jamie's naturally loud voice carried; Spock felt no guilt for eavesdropping once he saw the open door._

"_Yeah, but he prays, like, a whole lot. It's distracting."_

"_Doesn't top Spock. God, that guy is awful. He keeps the room so warm, even in the summer, that I'm _always_ sweating. I've told him like a bazillion times to call me 'Jamie,' but it's always 'Mr. Richardson' from him. And he's so freaky, meditating and shit throughout the night. He practically never sleeps, and he's always completely neat and clean. Spock never has a bad day. He expects to be in advanced classes, the arrogant bastard. Heh, he can code like a devil, but he sure can't as hell relate to humans. I think he believes we're friends."_

_Spock blinked, absorbing all the new information in. He had kept their shared dorm room warm, true, but after the fifteenth time Jamie "accidentally" turned it down when Spock was out, he stopped changing the temperature and dealt with the chilly low seventy degrees Fahrenheit range Jamie preferred. Jamie had also said he didn't want to disturb Spock's meditation, so Spock had taken to meditating when Jamie was not conscious believing it was a viable solution. He had not more time to ruminate over what Jamie had said because he heard the male voice, "Bobbie," say, "Hey, Jamie, isn't that Spock?" Spock, having stopped on the stairs, was barely visible from inside the room. He was surprised "Bobbie" had even noticed him._

"_Hey, can't you see this is a private conversation? Stop eavesdropping!" Jamie's ruddy face, accompanied by his tense body, appeared in the doorway. Spock, knowing he was being addressed, finished climbing up the stairs to the first floor standing, meeting Jamie's irate gaze._

"_As the door is open and the library is a public place, your conversation is not, as you say, 'private,' Mr. Richardson." Spock stated, not trying to pick a fight, just saying what he thought was obvious. Jamie, obviously, thought differently._

"_See what I mean, Bobbie? Stupid smug Vulcan… go back where you belong, on Vulcan! You have no place here!" Jamie shouted before he slammed the door in Spock's face._

A week after that, the winter break started, and Spock never saw Jamie again. Jamie was but the first of the string of roommates Spock had, each a bit different than the last, but all resulting with the same outcome. He was surprised when he felt amusement coming from Nyota; he thought she knew this was a serious confession, coming from him.

"I'm sorry, Spock… But these childish boys just fear what it better than them. It's like a zebra seeing a lioness and thinking of only being eaten, not realizing the lioness is completely disinterested in it. It shouldn't be funny, I know, but after all these years, you still don't know how intimidating you can be." Nyota explained in her thoughts when she sensed Spock's befuddlement. Although he found her words illogical (how could he, a male, be referred to a lioness?), they comforted him somewhat.

"K'diwa… we humans are just illogical that way. Starfleet Academy is full of stupid people, even after the entrance exams. They don't know the ways of the universe, and so they are intimidated and scared and stupid. Some learn, some don't. Those that do end up on starships, like you and me." She went on further, sensing Spock's lingering bewilderment.

"I still do not belong anywhere, Nyota. My only home now is Earth, but you and my mother are the only humans that have ever accepted me." Spock believed he was stating a fact. Even Admiral Pike, just Captain Pike when Spock first met him, had some reservations from what the rest of the then still-being-assembled _Enterprise_ crew.

"No, K'diwa, that is not true. Look and see. Your home is here, on the _Enterprise_."

Spock could feel Nyota concentrating, and the darkness that had fallen in his mind was filled with images that had hazy fringes. They were not as meticulously kept as his, for he couldn't smell anything, but he could hear and see very well. Minutes of memories of the key members of the Enterprise, all from Nyota's view, flashed by him in quick succession.

"_Eh, what do I think of the Commander? That damn hobgoblin is hard to heal… Just 'cause of him, I've had to review Vulcan medical texts, and those things aren't easy to come by! I don't want to lose that pointy-eared devil. He's a pain in the ass sometimes, but he is growing on me. All of you kids are. Damn, now I sound sentimental…"_

The Doctor's words were harsh, but they were spoken with slight affection. Spock was slightly surprised that Doctor McCoy liked him at all since all he heard were negativities from the Doctor.

"_What do I think of Commander Spock? Hmm… well, I can't say much now since I don't really know him. He's friggin' scary when you get him mad, so I'm never going to try to get on his bad side. He's meticulous and methodical – smart, too, obviously. My classmates that had him always said he was an unforgiving but brilliant professor. I don't think he's a bad guy, just a bit different – but in a good way! I mean, you're dating him, so there's another point in his favor."_

Spock considered Helmsman Sulo's words carefully, finding no fault in them. They even added another point of view for him to see from his past student's remarks.

"_Eh, th' Commander? He's smart – kin be a big help down 'ere wi' me watchin' over his shoulder. He's bonny terrifying, too – I remember what he did t' Jim. Remind me never t' make him mad, okay? He's just a bit out of touch with dealin' with humans… But I think you're tutoring him, aren't you, lassie?"_

Spock could feel past Nyota's amusement and her current embarrassment for showing him just a little too much of what Mr. Scott said about him. It made a light green flush appear on his cheeks, but, although he knew he should feel offended by the engineer's bold words concerning Spock's relationship with Nyota, he somehow felt… endearment? The wink Mr. Scott had given Nyota at the end was what made him realize Mr. Scott was just being a bit devious, letting him know Mr. Scott was not being quite serious (and might have been a bit drunk).

"_Zee Commander ez a good chess player. He ez also very… serious. I think zat he and I are alike, in some vays. I know zat loneliness zat comes from being ze smartest person around. Et ez better now, though, here on ze _Enterprise_. I hope he sees zat, too."_

Ensign Chekov's words also affected Spock deeply. He appreciated the boy's enthusiasm for learning, reminding him of his younger self, and the boy had proven himself a worthy chess opponent. He was not a Grandmaster like Spock, but he still played very well. Spock was somewhat surprised to feel that perhaps he and Ensign Chekov were not, as the boy believed, very different at all. Perhaps it would be a good investment to get to know Ensign Chekov better…

"_What, Spock? I like him. Sort of. Not really. Well, I can't say that. He gets on my nerves a lot, but I think that's just 'cause our personalities are so different. I believe we can be something like best friends, though. I'm trying, Uhura. We're friends now – I hope. Can't really tell with him. I know I can trust him with my life, though. I dunno why since he's proven to be a bit, eh, suicidal and homicidal – homicidal towards _me_, at any rate, but I _did_ egg him on - I just feel that way. He's got to be a great guy, though, since he took you away from someone like _me_. What do you think of him, Uhura? I heard you've been going around, asking the crew their thoughts about him… Not having any doubts, are you?"_

The Captain's words were scattered and cheeky, just like he was. Spock, through the Captain's little dialogue, could feel past Nyota's amusement and then shock when her own question was turned at her. He felt a warm buzz from Nyota's mind as she let the memory continue, showing him her own thoughts about him.

"_I think… I can't really tell you, Jim. It would offend him – it's a breach of his privacy. What I can tell you, though, is the reason why I'm asking everyone. He needs to know he has a home and that he has friends. I know Spock likes proof, so I'm getting him some. Trust me, one day, these words of yours and the others will make him very happy."_

Spock felt Nyota's mind pull away, ending the little tidbits of conversations she had with the crew. He could detect no trace of deception from Nyota, not that he expected any, nor any of the others from her memories. Removing his fingers from her psi points, Spock removed himself from her psyche, for as much of his sake as her own. Mind melding taxed her emotionally, and it made his inner balance fall apart. As he blinked to regain his mental balance, Spock watched Nyota just smile at him, eyes warm and loving. She waited patiently for him to come to terms with all this new information, leaning back on the palms of her hands.

"Perhaps I do belong somewhere, after all." Spock intoned, one side of his mouth quirking upwards slightly. He did not feel completely better, but she was an immense help.

"Just 'perhaps?' Spock!" Nyota laughed, leaning forward and pulling him into a hug. He hesitantly returned it, comfortable in her arms, sitting on the floor of his room in the _Enterprise_. The room swirled with scents of lit incense and the slightly acrid stench of burning cotton from the candlewick. His mind hummed with the warmth of others and the love conveyed from his bond with Nyota. Spock was not fully healed, but he knew, without a doubt, that he had somewhere safe he could return to now.

**A/N**: 'Ello there. : This is my first foray in writing Trek ff. I hope y'all enjoyed it and that it wasn't completely off base. I'm only at the end of the first season of TOS, so I'm basing all of this off of the reboot in 2009 and Into Darkness (plus what I've learned from reading Spuhura ff, lol) – which makes sense, since Spuhura wasn't directly in TOS. xD This isn't completely finished in my mind (I want to explore Spock and Pike's interactions that I only mentioned here), but it'll do for now. If you have criticism, I welcome it as long as it's constructive, lol. :) Don't be surprised if y'all see more from me in the future (Spock and Pike and origins for Nyota are already dancing in my head… who knows, I might even tackle a chaptered fic and go for the beginning of Spuhura).

K'diwa – it means "beloved" in Vulcan, according to starbase-10. Every site I looked at had a different word, so… yeah. If there's a Vulcan dictionary almost everyone uses, I'd be most appreciative if I could get that link, lol. ;P

~ Tobi


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